


Benefits to Friendship

by spirogyra



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Angst, BFFs, F/M, Family, M/M, Male Friendship, Newtlings, bros
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-22
Updated: 2013-10-22
Packaged: 2017-12-30 04:59:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1014378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spirogyra/pseuds/spirogyra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Really, they're just friends, and this is how it goes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Benefits to Friendship

**Author's Note:**

> This was my shaky effort at writing these two as just friends, no UST or possible romance in the future. I normally am not big on original characters, but it felt like Newt and Hermann needed that buffer. Also, yeah, Newtlings.
> 
> (If it matters to you, I picture Tanesha as a WoC. Steve can be as well if you wish it.)

"Just don't look at them when they come in," Newt whispered.

"Why is that?" Tanesha whispered back.

"Because it embarrasses him. Just act like nothing's going on. He'll go back to his room, and then we can stop whispering."

She leaned in close. "I like whispering." Her lips caressed the shell of his ear, then her tongue swiped across his earlobe.

Newt shuddered pleasantly, smiling in the glow of the TV. "Then feel free to whisper all you want."

The two of them were laid out on the couch, Tanesha on top, their mouths locked together, when the door opened. Neither reacted to it, nor to the two people quietly passing through the front hall to one of the bedrooms.

***

Newt didn't look up from his coffee when he heard Hermann's door open. He didn't look up when he heard the quiet footsteps and even quieter words spoken at the front door. Finally he looked up when Hermann entered the kitchen. "I don't think you can call them one night stands when they happen over and over again."

With a pinched look on his face, his hair still mussed from sleep, Hermann poured himself a cup of coffee. "It was never a one night stand."

"Booty call?"

"We haven't quite decided yet."

"If you're just friends with benefits or going down the serious route?"

Hermann nodded.

"Just let me know if the situation changes and I need to be on the look out for an angry or jealous ex." Newt put the toast that had just finished on a plate and slid it over to Hermann. "Locks changed and all that shit."

"He would never…" But before he finished, Hermann ducked his head, and started to put butter on the toast.

Newt slurped his coffee, pale from the unhealthy amount of vanilla-flavored creamer he'd added, before saying, "You shouldn't be so shy with him. You know me well enough by now. And Tanesha would never, like, do something mean or rude. We should all be friends."

"It's just that-"

"I know you're scared, but you know I'm here whenever you need me. And Tanesha too."

Hermann snorted. "Why would she care?"

"Because she cares about what I care about. Come on, you know how it works. Do you want me to say it?"

"No, it's not necessary just to appease my self-doubts." He stared at the toast, making no move to eat it.

"Have you talked to him about it? I mean, is he wondering why you're all…" Newt gestured vaguely. "Are you _trying_ to push him away? It's not my business to tweak your relationship or anything, but you should be doing stuff for the right reason."

"What have I sunk to, being given advice from you," Hermann said, and though the words seemed light, his eyes were downcast, still staring at the plate of toast.

"Have you?" Newt asked again, not letting the matter go.

"He knows there was an incident."

"Hermann, everybody's had an incident now. Does he know…?" _Does he know how deep it cut you? Does he know about us? Does he know anything about you?_ "I am trying so hard to give him the benefit of the doubt, but you keeping him at arm's length makes it impossible for me to get to know him. And fuck it if you think I'm gonna let some douche get what he wants from you while you're sleepwalking through it all."

"I can't."

"Can't what?"

"I can't talk about it."

Though Hermann's head was bowed, Newt could see the look on his face, see the way his eyes widened and mouth pinched into a tight line.

 

Newt ran down the hallway, down the steps and out into the street. "Steve! Wait! Hey, hold on."

Turning, Steve looked at him passively, face blank. "What is it?"

"I need to talk. Do you have a little time? Cup of coffee or something?"

"If you're going to warn me or-"

"No, it's something you need to know that Hermann can't bring himself to talk about."

And that got Steve's attention. "I've got a little time."

"All I'm asking is one thing: if it's something you can't deal with, then just walk away. Don't drag it out, because you already know I've always got Hermann's back."

They headed to the nearest coffee shop.

***

Newt's voice dropped to a whisper even though they were alone in the apartment. "It was bad." He swallowed hard, grimacing as he tried to speak again. "Don't ever say anything to him about it. Ever. OK?" After talking about it with Steve, re-opening that wound that he hadn't even been aware was so raw, he needed a little support.

"I won't. Promise."

"It was so fucked up. He'd been away long enough that she started to pick up some unwanted attention, you know. It happened just after Mutavore hit Sydney."

"The protests?"

"Yeah, in the confusion, even on the other side of the world… Neither survived. Like I said, don't mention it. How he held it together for so long, I've got no clue. I'd be a fucking wreck."

Without speaking, she wrapped her arms around him, pulled him against her, and cradled his head. With her fingers brushing through his hair, they stayed quiet and otherwise motionless for a long time.

Tanesha finally said, "The rumors were all about the two of you after."

The effort to turn things away from tragedy to mere comical catastrophe was appreciated. "That's because the rumor sites don't know shit about drifting, and nobody knows about the kaiju."

"So you two never…?"

"Yeah, we did. It was good, not gonna lie, but it was just us being stressed and confused and happy and definitely needing to get laid. Us as a couple just doesn't jive. But us as a pair, we rock the shit out of everything."

Tanesha laughed.

"No, really. He is like totally my BFF soulmate. It's why we're living together even though nobody would ever believe we could manage it. To not have him around is like..." Newt closed his eyes and let out a gentle sigh. "It's like running a race, except one of your shoes doesn't have any laces. And..."

Newt, still with his eyes closed, sank back down into the bed. "I can't explain how much it hurt; it was still so fresh. That night together was... Celebration and mourning that only the two of us could understand."

Tanesha kissed him gently across his cheek and temple.

"I'm afraid he's just kind of settling for Steve now."

"Have you tried talking to him about it?"

"Of course not. You think we're in some kind of reasonable and logical friendship?"

 

_Steve is a high school teacher. Steve smiles at Hermann in a way that Newt interprets as gentle love. Steve is older than Hermann by a couple years. Steve doesn't ask questions beyond the most basic ones. Steve nods and understands the odd answers he receives from Hermann and Newt together._

_Steve takes care of Hermann, which Newt approves of even if he thinks Hermann is settling._

_Steve is a good guy, and even if Newt thinks Hermann is settling, he knows Hermann deserves a good guy, someone stable and supportive and will treat him right because he's not the same man he was before Vanessa's accident._

_Maybe Newt is settling too. He knows Hermann would accuse him of it if the topic ever arises. But he likes Tanesha a lot, and while she's nowhere near as smart as him, she's talented and smart in her own way. The fact that she puts up with him and all his weirdness is enough, really, but she's fun in bed and they have lots in common outside of their respective educations. Also, she totally respects Hermann as his BFF and roommate, which is the deal breaker otherwise. No, she gets him in a way nobody other than Hermann does._

_And maybe that's what Steve is for Hermann, so Newt doesn't judge and gives them their privacy._

***

"Did you ever have any close encounters with babies?" Tanesha licked the top of the cupcake. "With your hundreds of sexual conquests."

"First, thank you for thinking I had anything resembling a sexual conquest, let alone hundreds of them. Second, not that anyone told me. I didn't even have any fake pregnancy scares." He licked the same spot she had. "I would ask you what your secret is for this frosting, but I couldn't duplicate it even if I knew."

"What would you have done?"

Newt took a bite and thought the question over as he swallowed. "If she doesn't want it and if we're not married, I don't have much of a say really. In my opinion. I would totally step up though if-"

"I want to keep it."

With the cupcake half-way back to his mouth, Newt slowly turned his attention to Tanesha. "You're saying…?"

"I'm not saying we have to get married or anything."

"You're not fucking around about this?"

"Fucking around is what got us into this position, but no, I'm not joking. Are you mad?"

"No! No way! Just caught off-guard, but holy shit, a Newtling!"

Tanesha was finally able to smile and relax into Newt's shoulder as she exhaled in relief. "I'm not naming it Newt, just to get that straight right at the start."

"Aww." He affected a disappointed pout, but that faded as he looked down at Tanesha's stomach. "You're not even showing!"

"Ten weeks or so. I went to the doctor two days ago."

Newt lifted her shirt and let his fingertips trace across her skin, circling her navel. "Whatever you need, just ask."

"Just you, baby. That's all I need."

 

"Newton! I thought we agreed-"

"Oh shit, I'm sorry, Hermann! We just got carried away celebrating. This is not a normal occurrence!" Newt sat up, tucking himself back in his pants and doing them up.

Tanesha followed suit, hurrying, but not embarrassed.

"Celebrating?" Hermann looked distinctly unimpressed. "Another month STD free?"

"I'm gonna be a dad!"

It was slow developing, but Hermann did smile, his posture relaxing. "Congratulations, Newton. Miss Barkley."

"Please, Dr. Gottlieb. I really wish you'd call me Tanesha, all things considered."

"Yeah," Newt continued quickly, "with the situation, we're thinking about looking for something that would suit all of us a bit better." Newt could read the look on Hermann's face very clearly. "Dude, I'm not leaving you behind. We're just going to look for a duplex, and then we're close while we all have our own space. No more sneaking Steve past us."

"Yes, well. I… Thank you, Newton."

"Do you want to talk about it with Steve?" The unspoken question if they'd become serious or not yet, especially after Newt's conversation with the other man.

"I think I should."

So they had. Well good for him. Newt smiled. "We're going to start looking right away. Tanesha's got a friend that recommended a real estate agent. We'll start wide, since we don't know what our options will be, then maybe all four of us will narrow it down?"

"All right."

***

"You know, I would marry you if you wanted."

"Are you asking?"

"Not specifically. I'm just saying that if it's something that sounds like something you wouldn't mind, or if you do want to, I'd be all right with it."

Tanesha smiled. "I love your sense of romance."

"If my brain weren't already spoken for, I'd say something cheesy about us being drift compatible."

A laugh and shake of her head. "Baby, we're not. You know we're not, but I love you anyway."

"Most people aren't, but it never stopped anyone from using it as a bad pick-up line. Would you be willing to marry me? Because I would you."

"Yes, I'm willing."

 

"The difference?"

"Between then and now."

Newt stared at Hermann. "You're saying we shouldn't?"

"I'm asking you what's changed, what's different about this relationship from the others that never had you considering marriage? Because you're going to have a child?"

"No! Come on, dude. Why are you saying things like that?"

"Because I worry about you. I worry about you all the time."

It was only fair, the way Newt had pestered him about Steve. "She's different. I dunno. I like being with her."

"Yes, I've walked in how much you like being with her."

"That's not what I mean." But Newt couldn't stop himself from grinning. "I like being with her even if we're just sitting in the same room and doing our own things. You know she's never just dismissed me. Never blown me off. I mean, she's totally blown me, but-"

"Newton."

He shrugged. "You tell me. Why do you love someone? Why are you willing to spend your life with someone?"

The corners of Hermann's mouth started to quiver, and before he could see it progress, Newt took hold of him. One arm fell across Hermann's shoulders and he held the back of his head with his free hand.

This was long overdue.

*** *** ***

"Come in! Don't mind the toys. They get dragged out as fast as they get put away."

Raleigh smiled at the mess of the large room as he stepped over an over-sized stuffed animal.

"I hope you don't mind that we pawned you off on Hermann and Steve. You deserve better than a beat up couch and screaming kids first thing in the morning."

"I don't mind."

Newt guided him through the maze of toys and rooms to the back door. "You got here at the perfect time. The grill just got hot."

Out on the back deck, the others were all waiting. "Hermann, duh. This is Steve. This is Tanesha, and the mess-makers are Marie and Lance."

This was a familiar feeling, one of careful, pleasant chaos, and family, as the two children started chasing one another out in the yard and yelling at the tops of their lungs, and conversation started up amongst the group.

 

It was a hectic three days, especially spending it with people he'd never considered friends, but somehow comforting too. It was _family_ , something he'd been missing for a long time. That sense of loss was strongest when he watched Newt cradle his sleeping son while they talked, and Marie colored quietly next to her father.

And oddly enough, the quiet mornings, emerging from Hermann and Steve's ( _Steve_ \--Raleigh didn't know if the name would ever sound right) spare bedroom to the smells and sound of breakfast.

It wasn't a place he could stay, not with so many people he didn't share anything in common with outside the PPDC, but it was a memory he knew he would carry with him when he left. Eventually, he'd replace all the memories of the people he'd known that were inextricably tied with the kaiju with ones that were rooted in peace and happiness.

Even still, as he was preparing to leave, Marie shyly held something out to him. Raleigh took it and smiled. "Yours?" he asked Newt of the battered poster he was holding.

"My little girl likes mecha. Can't help you piloted the most famous of all."

And it was the only mention of what they'd all done, so he scribbled his name on it.

_To Marie, we all can fight the hurricane. Raleigh Becket_

"Don't be a stranger," Newt said. "Stop by any time you want."

That sounded like an invitation he might take them up on, and maybe next time he'd bring Mako too.

**Author's Note:**

> [Lots of screencaps on my boring tumblr](echoisles.tumblr.com)   
> [All kinds of PR fannish stuff](echoislesfandom.tumblr.com)


End file.
